Daniel Fells' battle with MRSA could cost him more than his season; it might also cause the Giants tight end to lose his foot. Jordan Raanan of NJ Advance Media reports doctors have been working to save Fells' foot, which may have to be amputated in order to clear the infection. Fells has undergone five surgeries since being hospitalized last week.
Giants TE Daniel Fells might need foot amputated to fight MRSA infection
Doctors are reportedly fighting to prevent it from happening.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport says Fells contracted MRSA, a vicious staph infection that is resistant to many antibiotics, from a cortisone shot he received to treat a toe and ankle injury. Fells' wife took him to the hospital Oct. 2 with a 104-degree fever, which he succumbed to roughly one week after taking the shot. Hospital workers found that Fells' ankle was infected with MRSA.
Several members of the Giants, including head coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese, visited Fells this week. The Giants recently put Fells on season-ending injured reserve, and his career is in jeopardy as well. Fells, 32, is regarded as an elite blocking tight end and also had six receptions for the Giants over the first two weeks of the season.
The NJ Advance Media story says the Giants have taken a number of precautions to halt the spread of MRSA in their locker room. Three players on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were stricken with the infection in 2013, including former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes. Since then, the NFL has worked in concert with the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network, or DICON, to prevent MRSA from plaguing its teams. DICON published a manual that was given to each franchise in August and is expected to meet with all 32 teams before the season concludes.
But all of those safeguards are too late to save Fells’ season, and possibly one of his limbs as well.
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